Cornbread

Background: I've tried many cornbread recipes and hadn't come across a favorite.  My office friend swears by the following recipe:

Combine in bowl:

1 c. flour

1 c. yellow corn meal

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

In another bowl, cream:

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. butter

2 eggs

1 c. sour cream

Add dry ingredients to wet, mix lightly but completely

Pour into 8x8 well-greased pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Can be easily doubled.


I followed the recipe, with the exception that I used plain greek yogurt in lieu of the sour cream.


Results: Absolutely delicious--this one is definitely a keeper!  I may tweak it a bit in the future and lower the sugar content, but this is definitely my fave recipe to date...

Sesame Lace Cookies

Background:
In case you were wondering what was being stuck into the Pumpkin Flan, it's a Black Sesame Lace Cookie from the Flour cookbook (Joanne Chang) that was baked in a pan and broken into pieces..
I made baked the rest of my dough tonight.  Here's the cookie on it's own.  When she says they spread like crazy, they really do spread like crazy.  Don't skimp on giving each cookie it's 3 inches of personal space to expand and grow.  My mother said the taste reminds her of one of the sesame candies they had during Chinese New Year back in the day, and they fried the sesames.  Different delivery and presentation...same crunch.

Recipe based on what I did...since as always, the Flour recipe is based on using a stand mixer and it's shocking enough that I no longer use chopsticks or a fork to mix my ingredients. [Many thanks again to Ginny and Ann-Marie for their gift of a whisk during grad school].

Methods: 

7 tablespoons butter at room temp

1/2 cup granulated sugar (I like Florida's)

7 tablespoons packed light brown sugar [Side note: there really is a difference between light and dark brown sugar... I made my fail-proof Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies with light instead of dark, and they just didn't taste the same.  Trader Joes, as much as I love TJ, doesn't specify if its brown sugar is dark or light, and seems to be a hybrid...not a fan)

1/3 c grapefruit juice not from concentrate (Original recipe calls for freshly squeezed orange juice from 1.5 oranges)

3 tablespoons black sesame seeds

Cream butter on its own until it's fluffy.

Add both sugars until combined.  

Slowly drizzle in grapefruit juice--per book recipe, even with a mixer, the mixture will look broken.

Mix in seame seeds.

Transfer batter to airtight container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to a week.  

When ready to bake, heat oven to 350. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Per Joanne Chang "This batter spreads like crazy, so you have to use an extremely flat baking sheet in order for the cookies to bake in circles and not amoeba-like shapes."  

Per me: DON'T SKIMP ON PARCHMENT PAPER.  The batter will stick to your pan, dry on, then you have to reheat/melt the mixture to scrape it off.  Disaster.  What works a lot better is if you have small sheets of parchment paper that are lined side by side.  (When it's time to take the cookies off, you can pick up the smaller piece of parchment, turn it upside down onto the cooling rack, and gently lift the paper off the cookie...much lower risk for breakage).

Pinch off rounded tablespoon-size balls of dough and place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart to allow for spreading.

Bake for 16-18 minutes or until cookies are completely golden brown.

Cool completely

Gently remove the cookies from parchment. (See note above)

Cookies can be stored in layers separated by wax or parchment paper in airtight container at room temp for 3 days.

More from Sabrina's the next morning http://sabrinascafe.com/ ...farmacia wasn't open on Fridays and my visitors were here only briefly...

Thanksgiving

Background: It's nice to have lots and lots of folks around for a large Thanksgiving feast. But sometimes, when there's a fractured toe involved that makes grocery procurement difficult, it's nice to do a more intimate and small scale dinner.    The items that finally made the cut this year:

Apps:

Shrimp cocktail with cilantro chutney aioli

Cranberry pecan sourdough bread with rosemary butter 

Cornbread with chipotle apricot preserves

(Had tried making an artichoke soup but was a failure so I didn't serve it...)

Sides:

Garlic and scallion roasted asparagus

Modern Esquites--chili lime corn with queso fresco (which of course, I forgot to put out...)

Chestnut and leek cornbread stuffing (used Trader Joe's cornbread stuffing mix for this part...would use it again, but not use the season packet...and/or would cut it down)

Mashed potatoes (http://theoceanwaves.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-method-of-mashed-potatoesintrigued.html)

Truffled mashed potatoes

Main:

Slow roasted salmon with tarragon, thyme, and cumin grapefruit sauce

Dessert:

Pumpkin flan (would make again)  http://theoceanwaves.blogspot.com/2011/11/next-up-pumpkin-caramel-flan.html

French apple tart (would not make filling again) http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/French-Apple-Tart-363307

Pie crust from Moosewood (would make again)

other potential Thanksgiving items to try some other time

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/steamed-red-snapper-with-mushrooms-and-ginger
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/asparagus-and-grilled-shiitake-with-soy-vinaigrette
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/molten-chocolate-cakes-vongerichten
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/tangy-tomato-and-mango-salad

New method of mashed potatoes...works SO well.

Background: I've had my ups and downs with making mashed potatoes.  Too much cream--bad for your health.  Too little cream--just doesn't do the trick.  Potatoes steamed--way too steamed [bit of a cultural miscommunication one year with someone unnamed helping me boil the potatoes].  Olive oil versus butter.  Veggie stock or none.  One potato, two potatoes, three potatoes, four.  Red potatoes, yellow potatoes, russet potatoes, more.
I LOVE mashed potatoes.  I just don't always have the heart to give it all the extras that taste so good but just aren't good for you.  I came across the follow recipe and gave it a whirl.  My modifications below (healthier ratio, I think... but still tasted delicious--the boiling in dairy piece made a big difference and let me get away with less butter)

Guaranteed Not-Gummy Mashed Potatoes
Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz, Mission Street Food
Serves 8-10
5 pounds russet potatoes
½ quart whole milk
½ quart cream
½ pound butter, at room temperature
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. The night before, wash, peel and cut potatoes into roughly 1-inch discs. Place in water overnight to allow some starch to leach out.
2. The next day, drain the potatoes and place in a large pot of salty-tasting water. Bring up to a very gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and run them over with cold water, draining and changing the water at least once to cool the potatoes completely.
3. Place the potatoes back in the pot with the milk and cream, bring up to simmer, and cook gently until they’re soft enough to mash (about 5 minutes of gentle simmering). Pour off and reserve the dairy.
4. Add the butter and mash thoroughly, adding back the dairy if you like your potatoes softer and creamier. Taste, and adjust seasoning. Cover with plastic wrap, allowing the wrap to touch the surface of the potatoes, then cover completely with foil and keep in a warm place until it’s time to eat.

Note: If there’s left over milk and cream, it can be used to enrich and thicken sauces or soups later.

My Method:
6 individual organic gold yukon potatoes--no idea what they weighed.  I do like organic potatoes more than conventional.  It's one of those splurges that really seems to be worth it.
1 quart milk
1/2 quart cream
4 T butter
See above methodology.

Results: best mashed potatoes / easiest mashing process EVER.  This is a keeper.

Next up: pumpkin caramel flan

I love flan.  I love Pumpkin.  I love Michelle Bernstein.  What isn't there to love about this recipe?

Pumpkin Caramel Flan
Michelle Bernstein, Michy’s
Makes two 9-inch flans or 16 individual ramekins
For the caramel
1 cup sugar
½ cup water
For the flan
14-ounces sweetened condensed milk
14 ounces whole milk
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 ounces pumpkin puree
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spices
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
To serve
1 cup whipping cream

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. In a small pan, combine the sugar and water and cook over medium high heat without stirring until it turns dark golden brown. Pour directly into your pie plates or ramekins.
2. Combine the flan ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Strain directly over the caramel into the pie plates or ramekins, filling it to the top.
3. Put a towel on the bottom of a roasting pan (to keep the molds from sliding around) and place the flan molds on the towel. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes up about ½ the height of the pie plate or ramekins, being careful not to get any water into the flan. If baking large pies, bake for about an hour, until the flan is just set and jiggles a little when shaken delicately. If baking ramekins, bake for about 25-30 minutes—the center should still have a wobble.
4. Cool completely at room temperature, then remove molds from the water and refrigerate until cold, about two hours. Run a sharp knife around the rim of the mold, place a plate on top of the mold and invert, giving a sharp shake.
5. Whip cream to soft peaks, and serve flan with a dollop of whipped cream.